CockersOnline Forum
Cocker Specific Discussion => Puppies => Topic started by: bambino chicino on September 28, 2013, 12:13:00 PM
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Hi everyone!
I am brand spanking new to the online forum and my hubby and I are brand new owners of a beautiful golden cocker spaniel called Charlie!
I wont bore you with personal details and I'll keep this short as Im sure I'll be posting lots of other questions in different topics!
Basically, Ive read lots of negative things about Pedigree Chum. We are feeding Charlie on a mix of Pedigree Puppy tinned food and the dry puppy mix as it was what his owner was feeding him and so we wanted to make his transition to his new home as easy as possible.
We've had him two weeks today and Im worried that what we are feeding him is leading to hyperactivity and also making his poo very squishy. Its not runny but it is not easy to pick up. Im not panicking because he's only a pup and I read in another discussion that puppies can suffer diarrhea when settling in their new home, but if we can help him on his way by changing his food we would do it.
Obviously everyone has their favourite brands and types of food that they prefer to give their dog, but we were thinking of changing him to Bakers Complete Dry Puppy as it would also help us regulate how much we are feeding him however I welcome your opinion and suggestions.
I look forward to any advice and also to chatting with you all.
Kind regards from Amber and Charlie (And hubby too!!)
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Hi and welcome to COL! (by the way photos of your lovely fur bundle are compulsory) ;) ;)
There are many good foods on the market, but I believe that Pedigree Chum is not one of the best evidenced by the consistency of poo's - of which you will soon become and expert at.
I am owned by Jinley, a 2 year old little orange roan girl, who is now raw fed. However she loves Eden dry food as well, but not sure if they do a puppy range and is only available online unless you are lucky.
There are a few complete foods on the market which are used here, Arden Grange, Burns to name but two. They all have different effects on different puppies and what suits one does not always suit another, so much of it is trial and error unfortunately. If you have a local Pets at Home, you could ask for some food samples. Personally I would always make sure it had a high protein content with only a small amount of cereals and always suitable for a growing puppy.
You will get plenty of advice on here soon.
Did I mention photos?
Pat
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Hello and welcome to COL :D
Looking forward to learning more about Charlie and also seeing some photos too please :blink:
You're right in thinking that Pedigree Chum is not a very good food, but neither is Bakers, which is full of additives, colours and basically rubbish ingredients :o. Feeding Pedigree Chum or Bakers is likened by some to feeding a child on McDonalds every day. But don't worry, there are plenty of good foods out there so you just need to do some research and find the one that suits Charlie's digestion. Hopefully a good quality food will improve things in the poo department and should make him less hyper too, although Cocker puppies are generally very lively anyway.
This link http://www.whichdogfood.co.uk/ is worth looking at to give you some ideas. It's a few years since I've had a puppy but there are plenty of puppy owners on COL and I'm sure some of them will help by recommending some good foods.
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We were given a couple of bags Pedigree Chum Puppy Vital Protection chicken and rice Kibble which we used for about two days before we went back to using Wainwrights, the reason was our Puppy Lola had such runny poo's and went a bit hyper.
Within a day of changing back her poo's and energy levels were fine again.
I have also been told by someone who works with rescue dogs they use Pedigree products as they get a lot donated to them which also has the same affect on their dogs but as it is free they can't turn it down but advise a change in diet when the dogs are re homed.
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Hi and welcome. When I got Fully she was fed RD and mince tripe and some birthplace. This combination find`t work fir her and us. We changed her into burns puppy which she loved but still wasn't quite right. We slowly moved her onto Naturediet and haven't looked back since. We do put some Scans kibble on top but only about ten pieces and we use it also fir training treats.
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hi
squishy, thats a new one. is that better or worse than a mr. whippy :fear2: :005:
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I meant forth glade
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Hi everyone!
Thank you firstly for the warm welcome :-) I will soon post some photos of our gorgeous little dude as we are very much in love with him!
Please bare with me if some of what I say ever sounds silly or a little obvious as everything regarding our pup is new to us.
Reading some of the brands in some of the posts, they dont sound like Supermarket brands that I recognise? Is this right or is that I am just used to the brands that they advertise on tv and that there are many more available on the shelves, or do you advise more shopping for pet food in pet stores?
And squishy? Yes, definitely squishy! :005: Its more like a melted Mr Whippy!! x x
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Hi everyone!
Thank you firstly for the warm welcome :-) I will soon post some photos of our gorgeous little dude as we are very much in love with him!
Please bare with me if some of what I say ever sounds silly or a little obvious as everything regarding our pup is new to us.
Reading some of the brands in some of the posts, they dont sound like Supermarket brands that I recognise? Is this right or is that I am just used to the brands that they advertise on tv and that there are many more available on the shelves, or do you advise more shopping for pet food in pet stores?
And squishy? Yes, definitely squishy! :005: Its more like a melted Mr Whippy!! x x
Supermarkets tend to sell a limited range of pet foods, so if you have a nearby Pets At Home or Jollye's or independent pet store you'd be better going there. I'd advise against asking for nutritional advice at Pets At Home as I've overheard their so called trained nutritional advisors giving out some terrible advice.
Don't buy a big bag of anything until you're sure it suits Charlie and he likes it. But once he's settled on a brand it's worth looking at online sites like Zooplus as it might be cheaper to buy online. Some of the big manufacturers like Burns and Arden Grange might send you some free samples if you contact them online or by phone. Even if you don't use their food ultimately you can use the samples for training treats.
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Might be worth having a look on this site http://www.whichdogfood.co.uk/
Erica
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Has Charlie seen the vet yet (for jabs etc.)? if not it might be worth mentioning Charlie's poo probs, as there may be an underlying medical reason - My Minstrel had colitis when I first got him home and he was having food/poo related probs. He had some anibiotics and a week or two on rice based meals, together with some prokolin, is now thriving on Nature Diet Puppy (a wet food)
He came on Beta puppy dry food which did not suit him at all.
I am not in any way suggesting that Charlie has got medical probs, but that it may be a good idea to get it confirmed.
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Hi, we're having a similar problem! The breeder was feeding the pups on Purina Beta Puppy - and assuming it was a good quality food and not wanting to give him too much change we duly went out and bought 30kg of the stuff!! I've since read some appalling reviews of it and feel incredibly guilty about essentially feeding my beautiful pup on junk! His poo is also squishy... I think it's the high cereal content which they struggle to digest?
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Hi, we're having a similar problem! The breeder was feeding the pups on Purina Beta Puppy - and assuming it was a good quality food and not wanting to give him too much change we duly went out and bought 30kg of the stuff!! I've since read some appalling reviews of it and feel incredibly guilty about essentially feeding my beautiful pup on junk! His poo is also squishy... I think it's the high cereal content which they struggle to digest?
Gosh, please don't feel guilty - we are all advised as new pup owners not to change their food for a couple of weeks at least when we first take them home, & I expect for the majority of pups this is good advise, it is only when things go wrong that we have to question this - and is normally the result of some breeders not feeding quality food. ;)
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He seems okay on it to be fair... apart from the squishy poop... :-\
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He seems okay on it to be fair... apart from the squishy poop... :-\
it is so much better cleaning up a nice firm sausage poo then a wet walnut whip :rofl1:
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Hahaha I bet it is! Have a feeling would make house training a whole lot easier too... :-\
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He seems okay on it to be fair... apart from the squishy poop... :-\
it is so much better cleaning up a nice firm sausage poo then a wet walnut whip :rofl1:
I hear that! :D
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Has Charlie seen the vet yet (for jabs etc.)? if not it might be worth mentioning Charlie's poo probs, as there may be an underlying medical reason - My Minstrel had colitis when I first got him home and he was having food/poo related probs. He had some anibiotics and a week or two on rice based meals, together with some prokolin, is now thriving on Nature Diet Puppy (a wet food)
He came on Beta puppy dry food which did not suit him at all.
I am not in any way suggesting that Charlie has got medical probs, but that it may be a good idea to get it confirmed.
Hi, yes he's been to the vet for a check up after we got him and then again a week later (Last week) to have his booster. They said he was healthy and they were very happy with him. We mentioned squishy poop on both occasions as we'd managed to level it out for a few days after it started by cutting down his food. It has gone a little squishy again these last few days so we have cut the wet food we mix in right down.
My husband thinks that the paste we use in his Kong doesnt help as he thinks it smells awful. He only gets his Kong when we have to go to work so that he is distracted whilst we're out. I should point out that he isnt left all day as we only work 4 minutes away so we are trying to get through to him that its ok for us not to be there all the time and that he hasnt been abandoned. We are able to come back home throughout the day.
I love clicker training him and so far he seems very responsive, I do worry though that he is getting too many treats. Is there something that I can use/give him that wont have us worrying about him eating too much?
Thanks for all the advice so far, we're very greatful.
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When I got Flynn he was on wainwrights dry (a pets at home brand) from the breeder, and as he's grown and now adult and doing very well on it he has stayed on their adult version.
It was cheaper than the (James wellbeloved) I have the other dog on - though am now trying him on the wainwrights too.
It's probably not the best food on the market, but it suits my two, and they like it. I'd say it was a decent mid range food.
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Charlie and our other 2 dogs are all fed on Eden, the older 2 also get a sardine a day and Charlie gets a raw chicken wing. I found Eden after looking at the whichdogfood website that a couple of other people have mentioned. It is suitable for all ages of dog which is a boon for me, they are very supportive by email, phone and their facebook group. It is recommended to do a slow changeover taking about 2 weeks so their systems get used to not having all the fillers in the food - it looks a lot less in the bowl too as it is 80% meat and fish and 20% vegetables with no cereal or other fillers. It is available in some retail outlets, my local dog club has just become the agent for Shetland or it can be ordered online - everyday way to shop for me!
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just another note..........no one has mentioned that what seems more expensive when you first see the price, can work out the same or cheaper because the better the contents the less you need.
Don't worry we have all been there, just enjoy your new puppy :clapping:
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whichdogfood works out the daily price for you too! Very handy!
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Has Charlie seen the vet yet (for jabs etc.)? if not it might be worth mentioning Charlie's poo probs, as there may be an underlying medical reason - My Minstrel had colitis when I first got him home and he was having food/poo related probs. He had some anibiotics and a week or two on rice based meals, together with some prokolin, is now thriving on Nature Diet Puppy (a wet food)
He came on Beta puppy dry food which did not suit him at all.
I am not in any way suggesting that Charlie has got medical probs, but that it may be a good idea to get it confirmed.
Hi, yes he's been to the vet for a check up after we got him and then again a week later (Last week) to have his booster. They said he was healthy and they were very happy with him. We mentioned squishy poop on both occasions as we'd managed to level it out for a few days after it started by cutting down his food. It has gone a little squishy again these last few days so we have cut the wet food we mix in right down.
My husband thinks that the paste we use in his Kong doesnt help as he thinks it smells awful. He only gets his Kong when we have to go to work so that he is distracted whilst we're out. I should point out that he isnt left all day as we only work 4 minutes away so we are trying to get through to him that its ok for us not to be there all the time and that he hasnt been abandoned. We are able to come back home throughout the day.
I love clicker training him and so far he seems very responsive, I do worry though that he is getting too many treats. Is there something that I can use/give him that wont have us worrying about him eating too much?
Thanks for all the advice so far, we're very greatful.
You could try some boiled chicken cut into tiny pieces for treats. Minstrel loves cheese, again cut into tiny pieces - but it can be fattening if used too much. If you put kong fillings in the search bit at the top of the forum page, there are quite a few threads on healthy fillings for kongs - can't help you as I don't use one, but that will give you some ideas. These pups aye, good job we love em :luv:
So pleased Charlie is ok (apart from the Mr. Whippies)
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Countrywide stores is another good place to get better brands of dog food and they also sell a limited amount of raw :D
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Countrywide stores is another good place to get better brands of dog food and they also sell a limited amount of raw :D
just to add another internet site.
Seapets has a good selection of foods. free delivery over £34. also they have a loyalty club that reduces the prices even more. AND as you all know i go on about Quidco. they are to be found on there so more cash back. the savings all add up
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Thank you all so much, Im genuinely very greatful.
I was trying to change my profile picture so you could see Charlie but its not doing anything when I upload the file. Am I missing something? x x
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Thank you all so much, Im genuinely very greatful.
I was trying to change my profile picture so you could see Charlie but its not doing anything when I upload the file. Am I missing something? x x
Have you remembered to click 'change profile' at the bottom of the page ;)
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Bakers is about the worst I think, followed by Pedigree Chum. But half the dogs in the country seem to do OK on it. Just avoid any dry food with coloured bits - full of e numbers and like feeding a toddler pop and sweets. Cockers are hyper enough without adding to their energy levels :luv:
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We're on Pro Plan puppy kibble, and I add in a little bit of tinned mackerel or James Wellbeloved (1/3 of a small packet) now that Daisy is a bit older- we just stuck to kibble only for the first 5 or 6 months..
She has nice juicy firm poos that are very easy to pick up...lol :)
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When I got Flynn he was on wainwrights dry (a pets at home brand) from the breeder, and as he's grown and now adult and doing very well on it he has stayed on their adult version.
It was cheaper than the (James wellbeloved) I have the other dog on - though am now trying him on the wainwrights too.
It's probably not the best food on the market, but it suits my two, and they like it. I'd say it was a decent mid range food.
Hi, Ive been looking at the Wainwrights brand on the Pets At Home website as I think it might be a good alternative to the Pedigree Puppy. Do you find that your dogs dont suffer any hyperactivity? People have advised to avoid foods that contain additives but Im not quite sure what Im supposed to be looking out to avoid.
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If you are looking at wainrights just remember that it isn't a make of food, it's just a brand name used by PAH. The different types of food - kibble, pouches and wet trays seem to be produced by lots of different manufacturers and consequently the quality varies. I would guess they are all better than Pedigree Chum though! ph34r I feed Archie the wet trays (no kibble). It is excellent and he loves it. I can't recommend it highly enough if you are considering a change of the wet part of his food.